Electro-Assisted Recycling of Lithium Ion Batteries

The fast growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market is generating increasing anxiety regarding the sources and availability of minerals required to meet with a growing demand for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Critical elements (lithium, cobalt, and graphite) are crucial to sustain the manufacturing of a growing EV market as well as thriving wireless demand. However, the geographical concentration of mining and refining of cobalt and graphite constitute a supply chain risk for the global production of LIBs. This is driving technical development, which in turn, is leading to a dynamic change in battery chemistry. Lithium sources are more diverse in nature and geographical distribution, and current lithium reserves are enough to cover projected scenarios within the next twenty years. Nevertheless, the main question is whether the extraction technologies can keep up with the pace of market growth for EV. Interest in LIBs recycling is surging as a path to a circular battery economy and supply chain stabilization for critical materials on LIBs. Industrial processes for the recycling of LIBs are already operating around the world. However, these processes are almost exclusively focused on the recovery of Co, Ni and Mn from battery cathodes as the most valuable metals in the LIBs. Hydrometallurgical processes have been proposed for a comprehensive recovery that includes lithium and graphite, but the high operating costs and intensive chemical consumption do not support a cost-effective recovery of Li at industrial level. To target this issue, an electro-assisted reduction technology, based on the use of electrons as green reagent, has been proposed for the extraction and recovery of critical materials from LIBs. Through this process, high extraction efficiencies (>98%) can be achieved at solid to liquid ratios up to 120 g/L and in a peroxide free environment. The process is suitable to different battery chemistries and allows for the recovery of graphite as bi-product. A description of the process, as well as a flowsheet, that describes a comprehensive recovery for different value streams will be discussed.